Volcano scientist saw eruptions from up close

By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor

Volcano scientist and Big Island native Arnold Okamura will retire Saturday after 42 years with the U.S. Geological Survey, most of that time spent at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Arnold Okamura is retiring from his position as deputy scientist-in-charge at Hawaiian Volcano Observatory after 42 years of service. He'll still be a volunteer there. Don Swanson

But the Hilo High School graduate said the most memorable sight he witnessed was the Mauna Loa eruption of March 1984 that at one point threatened Hilo.

"Just the sheer size of the flows; it was really nice from an artistic point of view," said Okamura, who observed the progress of the eruption from the air. "It was pretty spectacular."

His tenure at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is the longest of any staff member since the facility was founded in 1912. Okamura served as deputy scientist-in-charge for the past 11 1/2 years, taking over the post when his brother, Reggie, retired.

Don Swanson, scientist-in-charge at the observatory, said Okamura provided invaluable local knowledge and institutional memory.

"He really brought stability and insight that you can only gain from years of experience," Swanson said. "He can look at information coming in and immediately digest it in terms of what happened in the past."

Okamura, 63, joined the observatory Aug. 21, 1961, after graduating from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa with a degree in zoology. A month later he experienced his first eruption while working at the observatory, and was put to work doing both seismology and geologic field work.

He left for a tour of duty in Vietnam with the Hawai'i Army National Guard, earning a Bronze Star. He then resumed work at the observatory in September 1969. He continued his involvement with seismology but also worked in surface deformation studies, primarily tilt measurements.

He installed the first borehole electronic tiltmeters on Kilauea and Mauna Loa, and the first simple surveying tilt network on Mauna Loa.

The only other interruption in his service at the observatory came when he transferred to the USGS regional office in Menlo Park, Calif., in 1975. During that time, he enrolled in the graduate program at San Jose State University in geology.

Upon his return to the Big Island observatory three years later, he headed the surface deformation group.

Okamura visited Indonesia several times in the 1980s to teach volcano monitoring, and responded to the impending eruption of Mount St. Helens with other observatory staff members.

"We were on the volcano the night before it erupted. We knew about Russian volcanoes that were similar to Mount St. Helens, but we never dreamed of the devastation that occurred. It was pristine, old-growth forest that disappeared overnight," he said.

The biggest advancement in volcano studies during his career, he said, was the global positioning system. The technology can detect changes in the shape of a volcano that typically accompany the underground movement of magma, and report the data in less than a day, when it used to take up to a month, he said.

Okamura said he can't quite say "aloha" to the observatory yet. He plans to volunteer there and work on U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye's re-election campaign.

Okamura joked that he was finally able to retire because he won't have to pay college tuition anymore after his son, Charles, graduates from the New York University medical school in May. His daughter, Tricia, teaches Greek at East Carolina University, and his wife of 35 years, the former Patricia Fujimoto, is the associate librarian at UH-Hilo.

Steve Brantley, who has been at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory for nearly seven years, will replace Okamura as deputy scientist-in-charge.

Contact Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.